The present invention relates to the field of monitoring X-ray beams, and more particularly to monitoring an X-ray beam for alignment of X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescent equipment.
In the art of aligning an X-ray beam in X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescent equipment, a hand-held fluorescent screen device is commonly used. In practice, the use of the hand-held fluorescent screen requires that the X-ray beam intensity be relatively high. Also, the use of the hand-held screen often requires that the room lights be dimmed. The relatively high intensity X-ray beam and the necessity to dim room lights are especially required when finely collimated X-ray beams are used, as in the case of microdiffractometry.
In the art of measuring ambient radiation, the use of Geiger counters is well known. Generally, a Geiger counter employs a relatively high voltage (e.g. 1,000 volts) to provide ionization in a chamber. An audible output often accompanies the monitoring of the radiation. Yet for the purpose of aligning an X-ray beam, the Geiger counter is not desirable. It would be desirable, however, to provide an apparatus for monitoring the alignment of an X-ray beam without requiring a high voltage and without requiring an ionization chamber.